Regional Roundup – Week Ending 4/2

What’s up! With all these great Pool C articles coming out this week on the blog, I once again have my classic Thursday night article for yall. Although there was not quite as much action this past week, there were still some great regional matches to recap. That being said, let’s get right into it!

The Week That Was (using last week’s power rankings!):

Friday

#36 Chapman def. Cal Tech 8-1: I called this match a potential trap match for Chapman, who just cracked the ITA national rankings. Cal Tech definitely came to play, winning at #1 doubles, but Chapman took #2 and #3, continuing their fine doubles play. Singles featured two close three-set matches (#1 and #5), one tight two set match (#4), and three blowouts (#2, #3, and #6), with every match going to the Panthers. Cal Tech battled, but Chapman was just a bit better at every position. A shout-out to Brett Buford (Chapman) at #3 singles, a position that I think is a bit weak for Chapman, as both Thompson’s have played great at the top, and Charlie Werman at #4 has won almost every match he’s played. Buford won 1 and 1 over Sathwick Pathireddy, a huge win for his confidence.

Saturday

#11 Carnegie Mellon def. #37 Washington & Lee 6-3: I predicted W&L to get absolutely destroyed this match, but the Generals actually battled really well on their home courts. Michael Holt/Chris Hu (W&L) had a great win at #1 doubles, although Carnegie took #2 and #3. In singles, Michael Holt had a terrific win over Abhishek Alla, 7-6 in the third! Jordan Krasner also continued his fine play, getting another win, this time at #3, over Kunal Wadwani. The addition of Chris Hu at #2 in the lineup for the Generals makes them a completely revamped team, pushing Ethan Markman down to #6, where he is a much bigger threat. The Generals are playing much better now than they were early in the season, although it is unfortunately a bit late. Their next big match comes on their northeast trip, where they’ll play Tufts, Bowdoin, and Wesleyan!

#17 Redlands def. #36 Chapman 9-0: I was thinking that Chapman might be able to make this match tight, but this match was not even close. Redlands rolled through doubles, by scores of 8-4, 8-3, and 8-3. The one notable thing is that Coach Marino switched his #1 and #2 doubles teams, but it didn’t make much of a difference. The closest match was at #4, where Taylor Hunt (Redlands) beat Charlie Werman (Chap) 6-4, 7-5. The others were all blowouts. There isn’t a whole lot to analyze in this match except that I think Chapman has established themselves as a top 40 team, somewhere between #35 and #40. However, the gap between that and a top #20 team like Redlands is huge, and Chapman has a lot of work to do to get to that level. The Panthers will play Whittier on Friday, another potential trap match.

Rochester def. NYU 5-4: I had this prediction almost perfect, which I feel perfectly comfortable bragging about because I was really wrong on some later predictions (Wednesday’s results). Rochester dominated the doubles, which they needed to do, because NYU is still a relatively strong singles team. In singles, Sidd Thangirala (NYU) had a big time straight-set win at #1 over Ben Shapiro (UR). At #2, Ian Baranowski (UR) took out CJ Leong (NYU), 6-4 in the third. NYU took both #3 and #4 in third sets, and also took #5 in straights. However, at #6, Aaron Mevorach (UR) got it done, defeating Jiri Honajzer (NYU) in two tight sets! This wasn’t a pretty performance from UR by any means, but a win is a win, and the Yellowjackets gutted it out! One note, NYU’s typical #4, Karan Goyal, did not play, a big loss for the Violets. Despite this, UR absolutely earned this match, and bearing any unforeseen upsets, the ‘Jackets will be at least the #7 seed at UAAs come late April. NYU does play Brandeis in each team’s last match of the season, so it is possible that the seedings could get mixed up if the Violets can gut out a win.

#24 Bates def. #31 Brandeis 5-2: This match went about the way that I expected, with the matches being tight, but Bates being a bit better than Brandeis. Deis and Bates traded two quick wins at #2 and #3 doubles, and Michael Arguello/Jeff Cherkin (Deis) continued their fine play with another win another win, while in other news, Brandeis still can’t find a #3 doubles team. #1 doubles was closer, though Pierre Planche/Chris Ellis (Bates) got a late break and won 8-6. At #1 singles, Brian Granoff (Deis) just couldn’t get it going, and lost in two tight sets to Pierre Planche, a big northeast win for the Bobcat. At #2, Arguello (Deis) played great once again, dispatching Chris Ellis in a relatively straight-forward match. However, Bates won at #3 and #4 to take the match by a score of 5-2. Despite Granoff’s struggles, I still believe Brandeis has a very strong 1 and 2, but there is a big drop off after those spots. Ryan Bunis did not play singles in this match, so I hope he is healthy, because he is a good #3. Lubarsky has not played much singles at all this year, so sticking him in at #3 is just putting him in a tough spot. #5 and #6 singles did not play their matches, likely because the women’s match looked like it took about ten hours to finish, so we didn’t get a chance to see how the bottoms of both lineups matched up. Despite this, both teams played well and rebounded from recent struggles, but Bates is just a bit better.

#12 Case Western def. #25 Stevens 6-3: Ducks!!! My top ranked regional squad took the trip all the way out to Ohio for the chance to take on the Spartans, which I love. The fact that Stevens is willing to travel all the way to Ohio for really just one good match (they played Oberlin the next day and won 7-2) shows just how badly they want to improve, and it is wonderful to see. Case got the 6-3 win, but Stevens absolutely made them earn it. Case overmatched Stevens in the doubles, winning easily at #1 and #3, but Kyle Henry/Ben Foran (Stevens) had a huge 9-8 win at #2, as a doubles sweep from Case would have taken all the air out of the match. In singles, Matthew Heinrich had a terrific win over CJ Krimbill, 5 and 5. I checked out the highlights of this match on the Stevens tennis Facebook page, and you all should too, they are some great highlights! Anyway, getting back to the action, Ben Foran and Charles Drake (Stevnes) each lost 6-3 in the third, ultimately giving Case the match. Danny Polk (Stevens) did win at #5, in straights over Tytus Chen, continuing Polk’s excellent freshman year. The Ducks are slowly but surely eliminating a lot of the holes from their lineup, and the next thing for them is to start taking some of these three-set matches, and also improve their doubles play, one of the big Achilles heels for the Ducks all year. The Ducks have no seniors, so they are setting themselves up for a big end to this season, and setting a great base for next year. The Ducks have a few Empire 8 matches coming up, and then they will play Skidmore on 4/12, a match that they are now favored in!

Sunday

TCNJ def. Rochester 6-3: Coming off the big NYU win, I’m sure the last thing the Yellowjackets wanted was a letdown to TCNJ, but unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened. TCNJ took two out of three doubles, and four of six singles matches for the relatively routine win. There was a three-set match at #1 singles, where Pierce Cooper (TCNJ) beat Ben Shapiro (UR) 6-2 in the third. At #6, Mike Stanley (TCNJ) won a marathon match over Aaron Mevorach (UR), 15-13 in a third set superbreaker. UR notched wins at #2 and #3, where they are strongest, but just couldn’t get it done anywhere else. TCNJ deserves a lot of credit for this win. They play a relatively weak schedule, but already have wins over Vassar (9-0), Rochester (6-3), and NYU (6-3). If it wasn’t for their 5-4 loss to RPI, I would definitely have TCNJ in my top 40. TCNJ does play Skidmore on 4/11, and they also play Stevens on 4/22.

#6 Amherst def. #40 Colby 7-2: Colby played pretty well, and even got a couple wins, but Amherst is just better. Carl Reid (Colby) had a great win over Andrew Yaraghi, who looks like he is now playing #1 for Amherst. #3 doubles for Colby, Shaw Speer/Cameron Hillier, also had a good win. Vlad Murad (Colby) at #2 took a set off of Michael Solimano, and that was about the extent of it for the Mules. The rest of Colby’s schedule includes Trinity CT, Bowdoin, Tufts, Wesleyan and Conn College. Except for Conn College, Colby is clearly the underdog in every match. If everything breaks perfectly right for Colby, they have enough firepower to steal a match, as Carl Reid can beat anybody, Vlad Murad is talented enough to put it together against anybody, and Colby plays decent enough doubles to win a couple. I wouldn’t pick them in any of these matches, but they are still worth following.

#11 Carnegie Mellon def. #42 Christopher Newport 9-0: After the tight match versus W&L, Carnegie really got it going against Chris Newport. Carnegie swept doubles easily, and rolled through singles, with #1 being the only close match, as Abhishek Alla (CMU) beat David Reed (CNU) 4 and 3. CNU has had some great moments this year, with wins over Whittier and Occidental, and also taking Sewanee to the brink in a 5-4 loss. Unfortunately, it does not get any easier, as CNU plays Johns Hopkins and Mary Washington in consecutive matches.

Wednesday

#31 Brandeis def. #19 Tufts 6-3: Roll those Deis!! To be honest, as good as my predictions were through Monday, my Wednesday predictions were completely off. Deis came out and dominated the doubles, winning at #1, #2 AND #3! Coach Lamanna switched up #3 doubles, taking out Alec Siegel/Ryan Bunis and putting in a couple of freshmen, Ethan Saal and Eric Goldberg. They came out with an 8-5 win over Rohan Gupte and Rob Jacobson over Tufts. Coach Lamanna also switched his #1 and #2 doubles teams, moving Michael Arguello and Jeff Cherkin up to #1, and Danny Lubarsky/Brian Granoff down to #2. This worked out, as Arguello/Cherkin won 9-7, and Lubarsky/Granoff won easily 8-3. Singles-wise, since this match was being played on just three courts, and Granoff and Arguello dominated at #1 and #2, Deis had the match clinched 5-0 about an hour into singles. #3 and #4 were much closer, with Rob Jacobson (Tufts) winning in a superbreaker against Lubarsky, and Alec Siegel (Deis) defeating Rohan Gupte, also in a super. Tufts dominated at #5 and #6, but it did not matter as Brandeis had already clinched. This was a terrific win for Deis, who had struggled with doubles all year, but put it together for this match. Hats off first of all to Arguello, who has had a great sophomore season, and continued it here. Also coming up big was Granoff, who dominated Telkedzhiev at #1. The only negatives I would give to Brandeis would be their depth, as Eric Miller and Michael Secular both lost very quickly at #5 and #6. Tufts is a very deep team though, so it isn’t too big of a concern. The bigger concern for me would be the lack of Ryan Bunis, a sophomore who typically plays #3 for Deis. He did not play singles against Bates and did not play at all against Tufts, so I hope he is not injured. Regardless, Deis has an excellent slate of matches coming up. They head to Bowdoin on Saturday, host Babson next Wednesday, head to Trinity CT 4/12, and to MIT 4/15. Tufts looks to rebound against Amherst on Saturday, and Trinity CT next Wednesday.

#41 Babson def. #39 MIT 6-3: Go Babo!!! Last night, Babson defeated MIT for the first time since 1985, and considering these two teams always play once a year, and sometimes twice including the NEWMAC tournament, this is pretty crazy. Babson came out and took two of three doubles, which I actually expected as Babson plays good doubles, and MIT is very streaky. What I did not expect was for Babson to come out and take four singles matches rather convincingly. Starting at #2, Isaac Thylen (Bab) defeated Eugene Oh 4 and 1. At #3, Victor Vu (Bab) defeated Kenny Gea 1 and 6. At #4, Felix Wee (Bab) dropped the first set 6-4, but then took twelve straight games to win the next two sets 0 and 0 and clinch the match for the Beavers. This was a historic win for Babson, who now looks to be the #1 seed moving into the NEWMAC tournament in early May. If both teams keep winning, MIT will get another crack at the Beavers, most likely in the NEWMAC championship match. Babson looks to continue its great play against Brandeis next Wednesday, and you can check out my preview of that match if you keep on reading! MIT hopes to rebound against Salem State and Springfield, and they will also play Brandeis, but not until 4/15.

#2 Emory def. #27 NC Wesleyan 6-3: Emory is the better team, but NC Wes gave the Eagles a run for their money for a while. NC Wes took 2 of 3 doubles matches, including an 8-0 win at #3. In singles, Robert Kjellberg (NCW) took out Alex Ruderman 7-5 in the third, continuing his resurgence. Emory took the rest of the singles matches, although #2 (Rafe Mosetick vs Sebastian Sikh) and #5 (Aman Manji vs Andres Gomez) were both tight. Emory is definitely the better team, but with Kjellberg, NCW is just a completely revamped team that can count on at least one point, and usually two since him and Sebastian Sikh are also a great doubles team. NC Wes will play Christopher Newport on 4/12, a match that could get close, but I would take NC Wes at this point in time. Emory heads up to Midd in a little over a week for a fun little Midd trip, playing Skidmore, Tufts, and Middlebury all at Middlebury.

Regional NCAA Bids: Doubles

Since I wasn’t kicked off the blog for my regional singles rankings, figured I might as well continue with some doubles rankings. Given that four teams from each region are selected for doubles, here are my top four regional doubles teams!

Robert Kjellberg/Sebastian Sikh (NCW): Kjellberg/Sikh have had an excellent year, especially lately! Despite losses to Stevens, Mary Washington, and DePauw, they have wins over Denison, Bates, and most recently, Emory! They are currently ranked #4 in the Atlantic South, although they do play Johns Hopkins on 4/25, where Michael Buxbaum/Emerson Walsh are currently #6, so NC Wes will have to earn that trip to NCAAs (at least in doubles, Kjellberg is safely #4 in singles).

Carl Reid/Vlad Murad (Colby): The Colby #1 duo had a terrific fall, winning the Wallach Invite at Bates and making the quarters of ITAs. They have had a solid spring so far, losing to Amherst and Wisconsin-Whitewter, but beating Bates, Hamilton, and Carthage. They are ranked #5 in the Northeast, but Pierre Planche/Chris Ellis (Bates) are #4, so I’m guessing that Colby will move ahead of them in the next rankings.

Brennan Faith/Grayson Frazier (Pacific): Though they are down at #8 in the West, these Boxers have been extremely consistent so far. They have wins over RPI, George Fox, Lewis & Clark, and Cal Tech, with their only losses to Redlands, Middlebury, and Whitman.

Michael Arugello/Jeff Cherkin (Brandeis): Arguello and Cherkin, the old #2 and new #1 doubles team for Brandeis, sneaks in to my #4 spot. They are very inconsistent, but have a lot of firepower, making the semis of ITAs in the fall, and defeating Cal Lu, Stevens, Bates, and Tufts this spring. Sure, they have also lost to Wesleyan, Midd, CMS, Redlands, and unfortunately, Chapman, but it’s their recent play that has them in the #4 spot for me.

In the hunt:

Matt Heinrich/Ben Foran (Stevens): Currently #7 in the northeast, Stevens as a whole has been struggling in doubles, but Heinrich/Foran have some great wins. Back in February, they defeated Mary Washington and NC Wesleyan, though they lost to Denison. They also defeated RPI and Swarthmore, although they have more recently lost to Middlebury, Brandeis, Whitewater, and Case Western. Similar to team Deis, Heinrich/Foran have a lot of firepower but are still inconsistent.

Daniel Delgado/William Reifeis (Wabash): I had to throw in Wabash, first of all because they are currently #3 in the Central, and also because they are on the move. Wabash has played a ton of matches, but really only two difficult ones, and it is their 9-8 win over CJ Krimbill/Louis Stuerke that is really holding them up at that spot. Wabash does have some more difficult Central region matches coming up, including Kenyon (#6), DePauw (#8) and Denison (#14), so Wabash will have to earn their way to be on the move to NCAAs.

What to Watch for this Weekend (with updated power rankings, yay!):

There isn’t a whole lot of action this weekend, as Northeast and Atlantic South teams are back on campus. However, a couple AS battles were rescheduled for this weekend, so fear not regional fans! Chapman and Whittier also square up for a SCIAC showdown, and Brandeis plays a couple more matches coming off their win over Tufts.

Friday

#29 Swarthmore @ #7 Johns Hopkins: This is a tough matchup for Swarthmore for one main reason. Swat is a bit of a one-trick pony with their strong #1-4 singles players, and that is how they win most of their matches. They get wins at those spots and then squeak out either a doubles match or two, or a match at #5 or #6 singles. In this match, similar to Swat’s recent 0-9 match against Kenyon, these top 15 teams are just too strong at the top, and won’t let Swat squeak matches out at any of their weaker spots. I expect a couple three-setters somewhere in the #1-4 singles range, but not a whole lot for Swat besides that.

Prediction: 8-1 Johns Hopkins (Swat win at #2 singles)

Whittier @ #37 Chapman: Whittier is struggling right now, with a current record of 1-11, and Chapman is having one of their better seasons, so this is a huge opportunity for Chap to jump over Whittier in the SCIAC. Both teams defeated Cal Tech, but Whittier lost to Vassar, who Chapman beat. #1 singles could get close, if Sam Farmer (WC) plays well, as Justin Thompson (Chap) can be inconsistent at times. Also, Whittier is capable of playing good doubles, so if they can pull out 2 out of 3 or even a sweep, I think singles gets tight. However, Whittier has lost ten straight matches, and I believe they are just too down to beat Chapman.

Prediction: 7-2 Chapman (Whittier win at #1 doubles, #1 singles)

#38 Pacific @ George Fox: First of all, I think it’s really cool how most of the NWC schools play twice in season. First time around, George Fox won 2 out of 3 doubles, but Pacific won every singles match in route to the 7-2 win. GFU has consistently played very solid doubles all year, and I again like them to take 2 out of 3 going into singles. Unfortunately for GFU, Pacific has gotten better and better at singles all year. They actually split the singles matches against UCSC last week, winning at #1, #2, and #6, with chances to win at the other spots as well. Giancarlo Battaglia (PAC) is coming off another big win, this time over Max Littlejohn (UCSC), and I just think Pacific will be too deep for George Fox. This is an extremely boring pick, but I’m going with the exact same box score as the last match.

Prediction: 7-2 Pacific (GFU wins at #2 and #3 doubles)

Saturday

#31 Brandeis @ #9 Bowdoin: Deis is coming off the huge win over Tufts, but the Polar Bears are coming off a big win of their own, an 8-1 win over Wesleyan. Bowdoin beat Brandeis 6-2 last year, and both teams have switched their #1 and #2 singles players, so Brian Granoff (Deis) will once again play Luke Trinka (Granoff won), and Micahel Arguello (Deis) will once again take on Noah Bragg (Bragg won). I am also very excited for the doubles in this match. Both teams had struggled all year in doubles, but both teams also put it together and got a huge doubles sweep in their last match. I think both doubles and the top of the singles lineup will be very even, but Bowdoin has the big edge at #4-6 singles. If Ryan Bunis is able to play for Brandeis, I do think this match gets tight, but Brandeis is not good enough at doubles to overcome their depth struggles.

Prediction: 6-3 Bowdoin (wins at #2 and #3 doubles, #3-6 singles)

Tuesday

#20 Mary Washington @ Christopher Newport: This match was rescheduled from last Friday, and I included it in my previous article. My opinion of these two teams has not changed, so I’m just going to roll with the same preview and prediction. CNU is reeling just a bit after losses to AS foes Washington & Lee and Sewanee, while Mary Wash is having another fine year. The bottom of Mary Wash’s lineup is playing great, with Brandon Griffin (UMW) and Evan Charles (UMW) at #4 and #5 getting straight set wins against Bates. This poses a huge problem for CNU. If CNU can grab doubles matches, it gets interesting, and I definitely give CNU a shot at #2 and #3 singles, as I like the way Steven Boslet (CNU) and Justin Cerny (CNU) are playing. However, I have to go with Mary Wash, who is just playing too well at the moment.

Prediction: 8-1 Mary Washington (CNU win at #3 doubles)

Wednesday

#40 Babson @ #31 Brandeis: All right, here’s the match we’ve all been waiting for! Battle of the B’s! #RollDeis vs. #GoBabo. These teams play every year, and I was curious of the last time Babson beat Brandeis, given that Babson just beat MIT for the first time in thirty years. Going back into the Babo archives, it looks to me like the last Babson win over Brandeis was in the 2002-03 season, by a score of 4 to something, as the scan of the web page that Babson provided has cut off the score. Despite these technical issues, the Babo-Brandeis matches have definitely been closer as of late, with Brandeis winning 6-3 each of the last two years. The match I am most looking forward to in this one has to be Isaac Thylen (Bab) vs Michael Arguello (Deis) at #2 singles. Thylen has played excellent since coming back into the lineup after missing the opening match, and Arguello has just been money all year. Look for this one to go three, and I’ll take the home team (Arguello) in a tight three-setter. I also like Brian Granoff (Deis) over Roberto Perez (Bab) at #1 singles. Besides that, I will take Deis at #3 if Ryan Bunis plays, but not if Danny Lubarsky is playing #3 (1/2 point to each team?). I love how Felix Wee (Bab) has been playing at #4, and I’ll take him at #4 as well as Ramone Doyley (Bab) at #5. #6 should be a battle of two teams that are lacking in depth, but I’ll go with Brandeis, either Eric Miller or Michael Secular, depending if Bunis plays. So, in singles, if Bunis plays for Brandeis, I have either 4-2 Brandeis, or 3-3 if he doesn’t. With doubles, I like Deis to take 2 out of 3 on their home courts. It’ll be tighter than it ever has before, but I like Deis to edge it out!

Prediction: 6-3 or 5-4 Brandeis (wins at #1 and #2 doubles, #1-2 singles, #3 if Bunis plays, #6 singles)

All right, that’s it! Hope you all enjoyed it. Early next week, I’ll actually be switching it up and writing a different type of article, looking at regional teams and exploring how these teams can improve! It’s a subject that I’m really passionate about, and I’m excited to discuss it in depth. In fact, I think I’ll go work on it right now! D3Regional out!

One thought on “Regional Roundup – Week Ending 4/2

  1. Sarcasm

    What about Washington College and how they did against Haverford and Franklin and Marshall? Big Jeremy Novick fan and expect big things from that team. Hopkins look out!

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